Angola coach Manuel Jose said on Saturday that he faced less pressure during his spell in charge of Egyptian champions Ahli. The Portuguese tactician led Ahli to a host of local and continental titles before leaving them last summer to take over at Angola for his first experience with national teams. Despite his splendid success with the Red Devils, whose fans are very demanding, Jose's relationship with Egyptian media was very strained. He accused reporters and critics of 'knowing nothing about football' on numerous occasions and they responded by crediting his success to the current crop of Ahli players. However, Jose believes he is under more pressure at Angola. "It's impossible to compare, but I would say I have more pressure on me as national coach than I did in Egypt," the 63-year-old said on Sunday. In Angola's first competitive test under Jose's guidance, they finished on top of Group A in the African Cup of Nations to set up a quarter-final meeting with four-time winners Ghana. Angola, who made their sole World Cup appearance in 2006, have never made it to the semi finals but could take heart from the fact that the tournament is being played on their soil. "Playing at home we are almost obliged to win. If we get through the quarter-final, anything can happen," Jose added. "Ghana are a feature on the world football map, Angola want to climb higher to be the same." Angola meet Ghana on Sunday in Luanda. The winner will face Nigeria or Zambia in the semi final.
